You're My Favorite Pastime
by elevensexual
Summary: A Clara/Eleven Coffee Shop AU in which Eleven is human. Hijinks and kissing soon ensue. These are the accounts of their budding hipster love. Title from 'Something in the Way You Are' by Kimbra. Rated T for language and sexy times.
1. Chapter 1

The shop had only been open for two minutes when Clara heard the first jingle of the door. She sighed and looked up. The costumer was an odd looking guy who was dressed as if he should be speaking at a boring lecture. She watched as he set up a workstation in the back of the store. '_That's strange,_' she thought '_we've only just opened. People don't start with the laptops until at least 11 o'clock._'

He stumbled over to the cash register and said "Hey. Give me my usual."

"Excuse me, sir, but I've never seen you around here before," Clara said. She was almost offended by how blunt he was.

"This is my regular spot. How could you not…" He trailed off and looked around. "Oh! My mistake! I usually go to the one up the street." He looked down at his feet sheepishly.

"Oh, it's no problem. What would you like today?" She was glad the counter was between them.

"A coffee with a pump of vanilla and a blueberry scone, please." He said wiping sleep from his eyes.

"All right, name please."

"The Doctor."

"I'm sorry, what?" She blinked in confusion.

"You asked my name. It's The Doctor." He smiled.

"Okay, _Doctor_." She started to make his drink. "Rough night?" She asked as he sat down.

"A bit." He put his head in hands.

She examined him. He had on a tweed jacket with, of all things, a bowtie around his neck. He had a floppy mop of hair that could use some brushing. She wondered what his story was.

"Doctor!" She called the name, even though he was the only person in the store. He slowly got up and carefully took his purchases from her. He retreated to his corner and became engrossed in the world he had set up for himself.

'_That was an interesting start to my day_' she thought. She was happy she had met him. She loved meeting interesting people and she could just tell he was going to be interesting.

The costumers started coming in for the morning rush and a few more of Clara's co-workers arrived for their shifts around 8:00. Clara shifted her eyes to the corner and saw that the Doctor, or whatever he called himself was still working. Clara went over to him once she felt the worst of the rush was over.

"Hey," she said. He provided no answer when she realized that he was listening to something and couldn't hear her. She tapped his shoulder and he jumped. The man looked up at her and took out his headphones. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "That was some great coffee this morning, thanks!"

"What were you listening to?" She asked.

"Oh, um, just some music." He exited out of whatever he was doing on his laptop.

"Cool. So like what kind of music?" She sat down in the seat next to his.

"Just a band that I liked when I visited London last month." He turned to face her.

"A British band then? I hope it's not One Direction, because I didn't take you for that kind of guy." She smiled at him.

"They're called Bastille." He said meeting her eyes for the first time.

"Huh, I'm pretty into music and I've never heard of them." She was surprised. A band she had never heard of? Clara had met her musical match.

"Yeah, their album hasn't released in America yet, but they're really good. Would you like to listen?"

"Absolutely! I adore new bands." She took one of his ear buds. They listened to one song and started another when Clara's supervisor came to yell at her.

"Hey! Get back to your shift and stop bothering this man!" He then addressed the Doctor. "I'm so sorry sir, I hope she wasn't distracting you from anything too important."

"No," he said. "Quite the opposite. She was helping me with some of my work, thank you, miss." He smiled and Clara noticed that his cheekbones were even more prominent when he actually lifted the corners of his mouth. "I didn't catch your name!" he exclaimed as she was walking away.

She turned and put a hand on her hip. "Clara," she said simply. He blinked at her, said, "Right, um better get back to work. The pair of us." And flipped open his computer yet again. She walked back to the counter, trailing her boss and dreading the rest of the day to come.

The rest of the day came and went with no stunning events to report. All of her co-workers had gone and no one had come through the door for 15 minutes, yet the Doctor was still in his secluded little corner. She glanced at her watch. 9:00. Closing time. She decided to wait to close until he left so maybe they could talk more. Just then, he closed and stared to pack up his laptop, pulled on his coat and started to head out the door. He had one foot out of the shop when Clara shouted at him, "Hey! I never got your name either! And don't give me that 'Doctor' crap because I know that's not true." He turned around and smirked a bit, "My name's Alex." and with that he ran out into the rain.


	2. Chapter 2

As Clara trudged home, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. The mysterious guy actually _had_ a real name.

"Alex…" She whispered. She rolled it over her tongue as if tasting the name.

She unlocked the door to her apartment and rushed up the stairs. Clara couldn't wait to get under her covers and replay this strange day in her head. Once inside, she decided that she was going to go into work early again tomorrow just in case he accidentally came into her shop again.

When Clara woke up the next morning, she sighed at the time her alarm clock showed her. It was far too early for anyone to be functioning. Then, yesterday's events came rushing back to her. She sprang out of bed and got ready for work. She dashed out of her little apartment and was at work the fastest she had ever been before. She didn't know why, but she was so excited to see him again. When she arrived, her boss was already there. '_He never comes in this early, except when someone is getting fired._'

"Hello, Clara." He was smiling at her, but something about it was off-putting.

"Good morning, Mr. Blake! What brings you in so early?" She was trying to move towards the counter but he kept blocking her.

"Well, I was thinking since you've worked here for so long, and you've been _such_ a good employee, you and I should go to dinner tonight."

"Oh, wow! Thank you for the offer but I'm afraid I can't go to dinner with you." She was trying to think of something that she could tell him to reject his advances, but not get fired at the same time.

"You can't? That's a shame! Why can't you this time?" He had asked her out in this way several times before and every time she had to come up with something new to get herself out of a date with Mr. Blake. Then, she came up with something brilliant that he had to believe.

"You know that man I was talking to yesterday? The one I was sharing music with? Well, he's my boyfriend and I wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea. I'm really sorry." She held her breath in anticipation that he would buy her newest lie.

"Oh, _well_." He gave her a look of suspicion. "If that's the case, I guess I won't be going to dinner with you any time soon. And I was really looking forward to it this time." He swerved around her to go to his office in the back. Just then, Alex came through the door and Clara quickly ran to him.

"Hey, I just told my boss you were my boyfriend so he would stop asking me out." She said it hurriedly so Mr. Blake wouldn't hear. He raised his eyebrows and looked down at her.

"You mean that guy who yelled at you yesterday when we were listening to music?" He took a step closer to her. "Wow, sorry that guy was harassing you! It would be my pleasure to be your fake boyfriend."

"Awesome!" She breathed "Thank you so much, so if he talks to you just talk about me. Bring me up any moment possible. Then he'll be really convinced." Clara and Alex walked together to the counter. She caught Mr. Blake watching them from the back. "Would you like your usual, _sweetie_?"

"Yes please, _darling_" He winked at her. Clara blushed and made his coffee while he went back to the corner he had occupied for over 12 hours the day previous. This time she left the counter and took the coffee and scone to him.

"Your coffee." She sat down next to him and in a low whisper she said, "Sorry if this is really abrupt and strange but he's been asking me for a really long time and I had to come up with a really good excuse this time." She felt embarrassed and avoided his gaze.

"It's fine!" He laughed quietly. "I totally understand. I mean, I've never been in your situation but I'll play along no problem. I took a few improv classes in college." He puffed up his chest in an attempt to look important but Clara just laughed at him. He smiled, and when he did his eyes crinkled.

"CLARA!" Mr. Blake's shrill yell sounded through the store. "I don't care who that man is! GET BACK TO WORK!"

"Yes, sir!" Clara yelled back. As she walked away, she heard Alex's voice, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. "What?"

"So when did we set that date for? 9:00 tonight?" His eyes burned into hers. '_What? Is this part of the whole fake boyfriend thing?_' Clara was so confused. Alex finished his coffee and walked to her. He looked down at her as he said; "See you at closing time, Clara."


	3. Chapter 3

Clara anxiously anticipated clock to strike nine. She couldn't focus on her work as his words were echoing in her head the rest of the day: '_See you at closing time._' This distraction resulted in three wrong drink orders and being shouted at by Mr. Blake. When the time came, she hurriedly got out of her smock and hat. She walked out the door, turned the corner, and promptly ran into a tall person walking in the opposite direction as her.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't see you there." She looked up and saw Alex grinning at her. "Alex! Hey! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for our date, I thought I made that _pretty _clear." He was wearing a green overcoat and his hair looked like it had actually been combed. Clara laughed. "My boss isn't here, Alex, you don't have to pretend."

"Oh, I'm not pretending. I want to take you out on a date. Preferably right now." The look in his eyes told Clara he wasn't joking.

"Okay, um, where did you have in mind?" She could feel the color rising in her cheeks.

"Well, I thought we could just walk until we found a really grungy place and then skip over that. Then we could keep walking until we found a place that looks relatively clean." He grabbed her hand and pulled on it to get her walking with him. After they had walked for maybe ten minutes, he leaned over and whispered in Clara's ear, "You smell like really strong coffee."

She giggled. "Occupational hazard." They continued to walk until they reached a small park, which was abandoned due to the late hour. He left her to run over to a swingset with two swings and motioned for her to sit in the one beside him. She walked skeptically towards him and sat down.

"Do you like the stars?" He asked.

"Sure. They're pretty, I guess." Honestly, she had no opinion on them.

"They're just fascinating. Big balls of fiery gas suspended in nothing. Sustaining life for thousands of years before they finally die." Clara just sat looking at him while his eyes twinkled with the very subject he was talking about. "They look so small to us but they are gigantic in actual size. Millions of degrees Fahrenheit. The universe is incredible."

The air was still and quiet. Clara looked up and tried to see what he was seeing. After a while she timidly said, "It's always been my dream to travel the world. My mom passed down a book to me, _101 Places to See_, and I want to visit all of them before I get too old and have to pass it on to my daughter. 101 places to see and I've never left home for more than a week, let alone left the country." She sighed sadly and looked down at her dust-covered shoes.

He turned to look at her. "Hey. That's okay. I wanted to be an astronomer but my dad insisted that I get a real job, so I entered the Psychology program. I'm a clinical psychologist now, but I always look to the stars and think about what might have been."

Clara decided to lighten the mood. "A psychologist, huh? Have you just been analyzing me for some experiment? What would Dr. Freud say about my habits?"

He laughed as he started to swing. "Well, I've only been observing you for about a day and I can tell already that you have a pretty sane mind." His long legs pumped as he propelled himself higher and higher. Soon, he was flying so high, it seemed as if he would touch the stars he loved so very much. Clara was swinging too, just not nearly as high as he was. Slowly, they stopped swinging. "Why don't we get out of here?" Alex said. He offered his hand, which Clara gladly took, and they walked away from the swings, away from the park, away from the road, until they finally made it to Clara's apartment.

"This is my stop," she said quietly. She walked up her stoop to unlock her door when she felt Alex behind her. She looked up at him and turned around, waiting for something to happen.

"I had a really nice time tonight. Thanks for swinging with me." He said this with the smallest smile she had ever seen. Clara looked down at her feet, then back up at Alex's face, got on her tippy toes, and gave him a gentle kiss. It was awkward because her lips just barely made it to his. She unlocked the door and motioned for him to come inside. They walked up the several flights of stairs that lead to her apartment, she unlocked that door, and they were inside.

"Whoa, so this is where you live." He was looking at the fairy lights she has strung up around the apartment and her various holiday decorations.

"Yeah, you can take a seat if you like. Do you want any food? Maybe some… coffee?" She asked.

"Sure, I'll take some cereal and coffee, please." He sat down on her couch. Clara poured the Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch and coffee and sat next to him.

"Cap'n Crunch?" He laughed.

"Yeah, it's all I really have right now. I haven't gone grocery shopping in a while. I've been working long hours the past couple days." She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. He smirked as he shoved a huge spoonful of cereal in his mouth, then took a sip of coffee. "Wow! I guess that's one of the perks of dating a barista, the amazing coffee 24/7."

Clara froze. Were they dating? For real? She had kissed him and he was sitting in her house right now eating her food. Alex turned to look at her and he had huge chipmunk cheeks full of cereal. She laughed and decided that they were dating. Why else would he be acting this stupid? Clara waited until he chewed the mass of cereal in his mouth before leaning over to give him another kiss. One kiss turned into two and two into three and three into four. Soon, they were lying horizontally on the couch.

She broke free to whisper, "I'm really glad you walked into the wrong shop," and continued to kiss this man she just met, but felt as if she had known him for years.


	4. Chapter 4

Clara awoke to the sound of a shrill alarm, the taste of peanut butter in her mouth, and the smell of Alex who was sleeping right beside her. She breathed in that smell as the previous night played over in her head. The park. The swings. The revelations. The _feeling_. She looked at her cell phone. The first things she saw were the two missed calls from Mr. Blake and the time. It was 8:06 and she was late.

"SHIT!" She exclaimed. Clara hopped off the couch and scrambled to get ready. She spotted Alex wake up with a start and look around in confusion.

"What? What's going on?" His voice was gruff with sleep.

"I'm late and probably fired." Clara threw on her work clothes while grabbing a protein shake out of her refrigerator.

By the time Alex got off the couch, she was putting her shoes on and spritzing on perfume. She was ready to exit the apartment when Alex put his hand on her shoulder.

"Is it okay if I see you again tonight? I'd really like to talk about those 101 places to go over dinner."

He smiled at her and Clara gazed back at him. He had taken off his shirt during the night and kept his jeans on. His overcoat, bowtie, and boots were lying in a heap by Clara's feet. She reached down to pick them up and then handed them to him. "Sure. I would enjoy that. If I get fired today, you're paying." She opened her door and walked out of her apartment, leaning against the door after she locked it. She sighed and smiled before running out of the building to reach the coffee shop. Clara burst into the shop, sweaty and out of breath, into the face of Mr. Blake. He was standing with his arms crossed and his foot was tapping on the ground like a father waiting for his daughter after curfew.

"Clara." He said curtly.

"H-hello, Mr. Blake! How are you this fine morning?" She smiled sheepishly at him.

"I was fine until I discovered you weren't at work, and then when I called you, you neglected to answer your cellular device. Clara, your behavior as of late has been nothing short of unprofessional and erratic. I'm going to have to let you go."

"I'm so sorry Mr. Blake. I understand." She was surprised at how relieved she felt.

"Looks like we won't ever have that dinner now." Mr. Blake said bitterly as Clara handed him her smock, hat, and nametag.

"Yeah, it's a real shame." Clara said, trying not to sound too happy. She walked out of the shop with Mr. Blake trailing close behind her.

"You had a good career here. I don't understand why you would throw it all away for some _boy_." Mr. Blake had strange mix of anger and sadness on his face, with a little bit of lust thrown in. Clara just laughed and thought, '_A career? As a barista? Wow, I sure dodged a bullet._' As Clara walked away, she decided that it was okay to be defiant, so she stopped walking, turned to face Mr. Blake, and shouted, "You are so creepy. You're in like your mid-forties hitting on a girl in her twenties? I'm so glad we never had that dinner because I have a nasty feeling of where you would've wanted it to go." Mr. Blake stood there with his mouth agape as she smiled her biggest possible smile for him before heading in the direction of Nordstrom. Her pocket buzzed. It was a text from Alex.

_How did it go?_

She giggled because this meant he had to pay for dinner tonight.

_I got fired! I'm ordering the most expensive thing on the menu :)_

_Hey you have time for travelling now!_

Clara put her phone away as she walked into the department store. She shopped around for a while, ending up buying a leather jacket, a sequined dress with a peter-pan collar, and a red satchel bag. She then went to get some books she had been meaning to get. While Clara was picking up her books, she spotted a book entitled _How to do Europe: A Savvy Tourist's Guide _and decided to get that as well. She went to the attached coffee shop and read the book while she sipped on her café au lait. Once she was finished, Clara walked out of the bookstore and headed in the direction of her apartment. She was half expecting Alex to be reclining on her couch, but alas, he was not there. But right at that moment he called her, almost as if he knew Clara was thinking of him. She answered the phone.

"Hey! How's it going?"

"Pretty good, yourself? Well, you did get fired today." There was fake sympathy in his voice.

"Yeah. I never really liked that job anyway, I mean, you met Mr. Blake." She didn't want to think for another minute about her old life, all she wanted to think about was packing and airplanes and old landmarks and culture and Alex.

"Yeah, he was a Class-A jerk. So about dinner tonight, I can pick you up at 7 o'clock if that's okay?

"Yeah! Seven's perfect. I have all the time in the world." She laughed. "Where are you taking me?"

"Ahhhh, that's a secret, my dear." She could practically _see_ the smirk on his face as he said that.

"Oh, okay. That's fine. I was just wondering what I should wear, that's all." She had moved to her bedroom now and was scanning her closet.

"It's a place that is unique, so wear something appropriate for a time passed." He hung up the phone before she could say anything. Clara stared at her phone for a full minute after Alex had ended the call. Clara was pacing now. _What could he possibly have planned for tonight? Our first date was playing on a swingset and telling each other our personal 'I wish I had…' stories. Honestly, what's more unique than that?_ She selected a 50's-inspired black halter dress and black t-strap heels. Once she was fully ready, she daintily sat on her couch to await his arrival.


	5. Chapter 5

The rapping came at her door sooner than Clara expected. She stood up, smoothed out her dress, and quickly walked to answer he door. Alex stood there with a smile plastered on his face and a single rose in his hand.

"My lady." He bowed ever so slightly to give her the flower. He was dressed in a suit and looked much nicer than she had ever seen.

"If you'll just take my hand, I'll take you to our date this evening" he said as he offered his hand. Clara took it and was whisked out of her apartment. They were soon on the street, taking random turns and back alleys until they were in front of a shop Clara had never seen before.

"What is this?" Clara's heels were hurting her feet, and she was really hungry. She appreciated the romantic flair Alex was trying to exude but she just wanted to rest and eat some pasta or something.

"Okay, here's the part where you close your eyes and trust me not to let you fall." Clara sighed, but obliged.

"Okay, take a small step up, now walk ten paces. STOP! Okay, turn to your left and walk four more paces. You can look upon our date this evening." Clara opened her eyes and gasped. Books and candles surrounded her. The books were old and the candles were new. In the middle of the vast bookshelves, there was a small table with a red checkerboard tablecloth. It looked like it was straight out of _Lady and the Tramp_.

"Have a seat please." Alex smiled as he pulled a chair out for her. As she sat down she asked, "What is this place?"

"This is a bookstore I own. We specialize in rare and antique books." A short man appeared at the table and placed two water glasses down. "That's Emilio. He's normally the cashier, but tonight he's our waiter. Thanks, Emilio!" Emilio nodded and disappeared into the shadows again.

"I don't know what to say, this place is beautiful. How did you find all of these splendid books?" Clara couldn't tear her eyes away from the towering bookshelves filled to the brim with gorgeous, decaying books.

"I used to go to a lot of garage sales, estate sales, thrift shops and I would find a lot of old books, so I thought I could make a business out of it." Alex was also looking around, taking pride in his hard work. Emilio showed up with a basket of bread. Clara tore into it while Alex asked her questions about _101 Places to See_.

"So what _are_ the 101 places to see?" He asked leaning towards her.

"Mostly cities in Europe, but then the book fills most of the spots with places within those cities that are important." She dipped her bread in some olive oil.

"Which cities?" Alex asked, doing the same as Clara with his bread.

"Typical ones you would expect like Paris and London. Almost all of the cities are big and heavy in historical influence. Germany, England, France, Spain, Ireland, The Netherlands. I want to go to all of them, but I just don't think that's going to happen."

"Yeah, I wanted to backpack through all of those places when I graduated, but no, I had to get a job." Alex shrugged and took a piece of bread.

"Your dad again?" Clara asked.

"Yeah, but it's okay. I love my psychology job and my little bookstore. I can go anywhere I want just by opening one of these books." He pulled one off the shelf. "_Robinson Crusoe_, one of my favorites as a child. What are you favorite books, Clara?" He wiped at the dusty cover of the ancient book in his hand.

"I like a lot of Shakespeare's comedies, not the tragedies though. I really love books by George Orwell. A few other favorites are _Brave New World _and…" Alex's lips cut her off. She dug and tangled her fingers in his hair. When they broke away she stared at him and asked him, "What was that for?"

"That was for being the most interesting girls I've ever met. You're deep and complicated and I can't wait to figure you out." Clara felt her cheeks redden.

"Stop, don't lie to me." She playfully smacked his hand.

"I swear to you, I'm not! You're the most beautiful, intriguing person I have ever had the privilege of meeting." Alex reached over the table to stroke her hair. "Emilio! I won't need you anymore tonight. Thank you for your service and see you tomorrow morning."

Alex waited for the back door to slam, notifying the pair of Emilio's departure, before kissing Clara again. He started off light and gentle, but became more passionate as time went on. They had left the table and moved to a large armchair. Clara sat on Alex's lap and their hands explored each other. Alex pulled away after untying Clara's dress.

"Maybe we should go somewhere more comfortable?" He suggested.

"No." She looked around again at the bookshelves. "Right here is just fine."


End file.
